


braving the elements

by mixtapestar



Series: our secluded cabin [2]
Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M, Sentimental
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:20:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27153052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mixtapestar/pseuds/mixtapestar
Summary: While Quentin and Eliot enjoy their mountain vacation, Eliot decides to go for a walk. Along the way he makes a decision.
Relationships: Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh
Series: our secluded cabin [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982003
Comments: 14
Kudos: 59
Collections: Comfortween 2020





	braving the elements

**Author's Note:**

> For Comfortween, Day 22: Winter Wonderland (blizzard).
> 
> This one continues from one of my previous Comfortween fills, the hot tub fic. See the 'our secluded cabin' series link if you missed the first part.

Eliot has been acting strange all throughout their mountain getaway. Not in a bad way; actually, Quentin has never felt more loved and appreciated. But it's unusual, how often Eliot goes out of his way to show affection, to explicitly tell Quentin he loves him. And the rest of the time, he seems distant, thoughts elsewhere.

Is he trying to convince Quentin? Because he already knows how Eliot feels about him; it's part of why they work so well. Or is he trying to convince himself? Oh god, is he dying? Is _Quentin_ dying? Okay, probably not that last one.

The roads were finally clear enough yesterday for them to drive into town, and Eliot seemed distracted the whole time. He took them to a fancy Italian place for lunch, but then after they stepped inside, he looked around, said, "Mm, no," and redirected them to the much more casual deli down the street. Quentin didn't complain—he had a delicious club sandwich—but it was odd Eliot behavior.

They started off today with Quentin enthusiastically riding Eliot—their sex this week has been _phenomenal_ —and now, after they've had lunch, Eliot is making noises about going for a walk. Quentin pulls a face; he'd rubbed a blister into his toe yesterday and doesn't really want to add to it so soon.

"You can stay here," Eliot says, pressing a kiss to his temple. "I'm just feeling a little restless."

"Everything okay?"

"Of course," Eliot says with a smile. "Relax. Take a nap. I'll be back soon."

Quentin tries to read at first, but he finds himself missing the occasional interruption from Eliot, so he takes Eliot's advice and lays down for a nap.

When he wakes up, the sky is dark. At first, he wonders how long he could have possibly slept, but then he realizes he's hearing the roar of the wind, and looks out the window to see snow. _Lots_ of snow in a deeply overcast sky.

He leaves the bedroom and with a sinking feeling, realizes the whole cabin is dark. He flips on the light in the living room and calls out, "Eliot? There's a fucking blizzard, are you back?" He throws open the front door, pushing against the wind and calling out again, but his voice feels swept away the moment it leaves his mouth.

He's still stumbling through the house, calling Eliot's name like maybe he's just hiding, when he hears his own name called out in return and feels a flood of relief. "El, where are you?"

There's a weird increase in noise too, like the storm got louder, and then he hears Eliot's shouted reply. "In the mirror."

Quentin runs back into the bedroom and picks up the mirror. Eliot looks exhausted. "Oh god, where are you?"

"Everything's okay, I promise. I'm like, half a mile from the cabin, and my warming charms are holding up fine. I just can't see a _damn_ thing in this storm and the energies are all wrong for my locator spells."

Quentin is already digging through the closet for his thickest coat, holding the mirror off to the side with one hand.

"Don't you dare come out here," Eliot says, clearly on to him. "I just spent twenty minutes convincing my phone it was a mirror. I just need you to cast Penezor's Beacon on the mirror, and I'm pretty sure I can get my locator spell to work, since the mirror also has my magic infused in it."

Penezor's Beacon. "I know that one," Quentin says with fake confidence, trying to remember the particulars.

"Yeah you do, baby. Look, I can show you, just remember that my fingers are mirrored."

Quentin nods, moving into better light so he can focus on Eliot's fingers. Eliot props up his phone against something, and the snow gets in the way a couple of times, but Quentin gets the idea, remembering the spell now that he's seen it again. "Got it," he says, setting down the mirror. "Stand by." He takes a deep breath, stretching his fingers, focusing on the circumstances, and then works through the spell. He stares at the mirror, heart beating fast. "Nothing happened," he says, defeated. He picks up the mirror, but Eliot is obscured further by snow.

"It worked!" Eliot says suddenly, jostling his phone as he picks it back up. "I can see the path, baby, you're wonderful. _Thank you_. I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"

"Can you, like, stay on the line?" Quentin asks, gripping the mirror tightly.

"I can try, but I've used up a lot of energy with all these spells."

Quentin sighs. He can't be selfish when it comes to Eliot's safety. It would be way worse if he passed out on the way back just because Quentin wouldn't hang up. "No, you should focus on getting back. Just, please be careful."

"I will, I promise. Love you."

"I love you, too," Quentin says, and then the mirror switches back to his own harrowed expression.

Quentin spends the next thirty minutes pacing, berating himself for overanalyzing all the affection he's gotten from Eliot this week, checking for Eliot outside, stoking the fire, and pacing some more.

Suddenly, there's a jostling at the door, and Quentin's heart jumps into his throat. He sees the doorknob moving and then realizes, cursing, that it's locked. "Goddamnit, hang on, I'll be right there."

A quick turn of the lock and he's pulling open the door, Eliot practically collapsing into his arms.

"Eliot, thank god. Here, baby, let's go sit by the fire."

Quentin kicks the door shut and leads Eliot over, and as soon as they're settled, they pull each other into a fierce hug. Quentin rubs over Eliot's back, soothing him, trying not to cry as relief truly sets in.

Quentin pulls out of the hug slightly, his hands roaming over Eliot, checking him for injuries while Eliot tightens his hold and says, "Marry me."

Quentin freezes, returning his gaze to Eliot's. He has to swallow around the sudden lump in his throat before he can speak. "What?"

"Agree to marry me, please, before one more thing goes wrong with this week." Eliot cups Quentin's face in his hands. "I know it's not the most romantic way of asking; trust me, I had about a thousand other plans, but. I love you so much. Will you marry me?"

"You… had plans?"

"Q."

" _Yes_ , god, of course I'll marry you, holy _shit_ ," he says, diving in to kiss Eliot. "Oh my god, is this why you've been acting so weird?" he asks, moving back in for another kiss without giving Eliot time to answer. "I can't believe you. I love you so much. Holy _shit_."

Eliot laughs. "Do you wanna see the ring?"

"There's a _ring_?" He gapes at Eliot, who just blinks at him. "God, who am I talking to? Of course there's a ring." He takes a few breaths to get his bearings. " _Yes_ , please show it to me."

Eliot slips out of his coat, reaching into the pocket for a small box before tossing the coat aside. He holds out the box to Quentin before popping it open to reveal a gold band. "It's simple; I knew you wouldn't want anything too obnoxious, but look closely."

Quentin plucks it delicately from the box, not knowing what he'll see but already feeling overwhelmed. He spots the numbers lining the inside before he can parse out what they mean.

"I know we disagree about our, y'know, official anniversary, so. I had it engraved with the day we went through the clock to the mosaic. It's a magical engraving though, so we can change that, or remove it if you don't like it."

Quentin tries to hold back, but then he has to blink, and the tears fall from his eyes. "I love it. God, Eliot, I love _you_ , how long have you been planning this?"

Eliot rubs the back of his neck. "Since we started planning this trip?"

"Eliot. That was in the _summer_."

Eliot takes the ring from him and then takes hold of his left hand, sliding the ring on. It fits perfectly; fresh tears fall from Quentin's eyes. "I was still, like, terrified of asking, back then, but this gave me a goal. If I chickened out we could've still just had a nice vacation." He brings Quentin's hand up to kiss his knuckles, and then leans in to brush their lips together. "I've been sure for a while, though. I wanted it to be a secret, but I did tell Margo."

"Margo," Quentin repeats. "Oh god, we have to tell everyone! Where's that godforsaken mirror?"

"I'm glad you're so excited. But… can we maybe alert the troops in a few hours?" Eliot asks, and Quentin finally notices how weary he looks.

"Jesus. God. You were just in a blizzard. I'm so sorry. Are you okay? I got kind of distracted."

"Don't apologize. I'm… really happy that you're so happy. I just… really need a nap, I think."

"Of course." He stands and helps Eliot up, supporting him on the walk to their bedroom. "You sleep for a while, and I'll make us dinner. We are _not_ leaving this cabin again."

Eliot laughs roughly. "We will eventually have to go home."

"Eventually, sure. But not until I've had these next few days with my fiancé."

Eliot hums in satisfaction. "I like the sound of that."

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love! <3 There will be at least one more installment in this series this month. ;)


End file.
